Day Care Divas and Gibblets
by Dixie Dewdrop
Summary: The Gibblets are determined to rearrange Jethro's childcare agenda. This story is part of my Here and Now scenario.
1. Entertainers in Rehearsal

Entertainers in Rehearsal

Dr. Mallard regarded the man before him and attempted to speak soothingly. "All right, Jethro, now you settle back and remember that this will make you sleep for some time. One of the benefits of an on the job injury remains the rest that follows. Try to enjoy it, rather than resent it."

Cradling his head against the back cushion of the couch and scowling angrily, the NCIS team leader protested instead. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I do not need mollycoddling, Doctor Mallard?"

Normal people would respond to the brusque tone of the very socially compromised Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs with trepidation. Dr. Mallard, though, having spent years as both a friend and a coworker, dismissed the claim out of hand.

"Hmmm…" Ducky regarded him, adjusting his glasses to peer at Jethro's pupils. "Mollycoddling certainly occupies a place in our lives."

"Forget it," Jethro ordered, closing his eyes in resignation. "Let me say, though, that it will end up your fault if this case stalls. None of my team wants to investigate this whole day care business, much less come into contact with kids. I have forced them to approach the preschool only by threatening them. Though they pride themselves on their tough exteriors, toddlers terrify them. Unsupervised, they will gratefully ignore what I have instructed them to do." Gibbs opened his eyes and narrowed them at his friend. "Preschoolers scare them, Duck."

Unrepentant, the doctor merely nodded that he had heard.

Shutting his eyes again, Gibbs pondered another possibility. "Of course, with four adults suspiciously identifiable with toddlers on any given day, who act as preschoolers already, throwing them into the lion's den with others in their maturity level certainly demands strict supervision."

Refusing to be baited, Ducky did not respond right away. Instead, he listened to Jethro's thoughts while reviewing what he knew of the case.

NCIS had investigated a Marine thought to have sold drugs under the cover of a child day care business. After nearly two weeks of intense investigation, Team Gibbs knew they had the evidence to convict the military officer within their grasp.

When confronted by Team Gibbs the Marine had pulled a gun and started firing, however. The team had reacted in kind, and in the melee, a bullet grazed Gibbs and knocked him to the ground.

Thus, Dr. Mallard had offered him the option of a visit to the hospital or confinement to his own home.

Jethro had chosen his own house, though ungraciously.

Ducky would perform the Marine's autopsy later that day.

Swabbing his patient's arm as he addressed Jethro's earlier qualms, Ducky spoke sympathetically, "Just give them a chance to conduct themselves away from your supervision and maybe they will surprise you. Let them leave the nest, Jethro."

**The pinch of the hypodermic silenced any rejoinder from Gibbs.**

"Dad, no, please," eleven year old Tony begged. Leaning over the back of the chair where his father sat with the telephone in hand, the child's breath blew across the receiver.

"Please, please, please," the boy continued, his voice laden with dramatic emphasis.

Adjusting his glasses, Jethro spoke in a soothing voice. "Son, now I explained my position to you. I can not permit you to stay home alone at your age. Maybe in a couple of years I will consider it, but you are not mature enough right now."

Flinging himself towards the doorway in dramatic fashion, Tony did not try to mask his outrage. "That is just not fair and you are making me stay a baby! I wish I lived somewhere else with a parent who trusted his kid instead of the one I got born with here!"

With that he stomped up the steps and to his room. Gibbs listened for the footsteps to retreat before massaging his temples and attempting to unkink the tight muscles of his shoulders.

Truthfully, he sympathized with his oldest, understanding how badly Tony wanted to separate himself from his brother and sisters. Unfortunately, though, as a single father to four children his focus generally gravitated towards the good of the group rather than the good of the one.

His children had finished up their school years in the past days, and none of the summer camps began for a solid two weeks. In the interim, NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs depended upon day care to oversee his children, who ranged from eleven to eight years old. Though they certainly had matured over the past months, they were nowhere near the ability level to stay anywhere without supervision.

Jethro gazed at the framed pictures on the mantle. His youngest, Abby, grinned gap toothed from this year's school picture. Loving and cuddly, she still possessed a strong sense of her own identity. These days she insisted that she only would wear her dark hair in pigtails, and refused to dress in outfits other than long, flowing dresses. Usually gregarious and optimistic, she generally cooperated with the household rules and procedures.

Gibbs stood up and stretched, and straightened Kate's photo on the opposite end of the mantle. At ten, his oldest daughter considered herself quite mature and the most responsible member of the family. A great deal of the time that proved correct. With hair a couple of shades lighter than her sister's, she possessed more of a regal poise and tended to adopt a ladylike bearing.

He focused on his younger son's photo next. A nine year old, his sole blond child approached every event or situation seriously, and Gibbs reminded himself that even as a newborn, Tim had managed to appear solemn. Though not the attention generator his brother was, Tim nevertheless grabbed his share of his father's notice.

Last the agent studied a picture of his oldest, Tony. Extremely handsome, Tony knew how to use his great smile or glimmering eyes to his advantage. However, he gained popularity from his friends because of his innate athletic ability, and though still a pre-teen, females flocked to him in response to his charm and suave approach.

Gibbs drummed his fingers onto the mantle, mentally reviewing the day care arrangements he had confirmed for his four. Until they could all function independently, he would not entertain the idea of a no- child- care- summer.

A crash from upstairs followed by outraged shrill voices warned him that his boys had done something to anger the girls again.

One of the most perplexing aspects of his fatherhood lay in the fact that his children ganged up and banded together or operated as lone entities with no set timetable. One day two of the four would tease, exclude, or separate from the others, while another day the four refused to participate in any activity other than a group one. Then, at one time or another they would insist they wanted to spend time away from each other. Though Jethro Gibbs had some talent in predicting who would or would not unite, he could not always guess correctly. Even after eleven years as a parent, he considered himself a novice because of issues like collaboration.

His daughters stomped angrily down the steps, both calling out for him and promising their brothers they planned to tell and expose their crimes. Gibbs noted that his sons did not summon him as well, which alerted him to their guilt in the current crime.

Sure enough, in outraged tones Abby and Kate insisted that Tony and Tim had sneaked into their room and run down the paper dolls that they had dressed and posed with Tim's battery operated parachutist. Now, the females confirmed, three of their paper toys lay mutilated, and the outfits appeared shredded.

Enlisting their father as an ally, they grabbed his hands and tugged him back upstairs to view the damage. Of course when he approached their room he saw no sign of the boys. In fact, he had to cross the hall and summon the boys, who appeared engrossed in the books they held. They feigned surprise, and he almost smiled at their blatant acting, especially when Tony arched his eyebrows.

It took a few minutes to salvage the dolls, correct the boys, and restore a semblance of peace. Finally, though, he retraced his steps to the bottom floor and began preparations for supper.

Tony dashed into the room a few minutes later, peeped into the pots on the stove, and raced towards the front door.

"Hang on," Gibbs directed. "Do not head into the yard right now, because I have almost finished supper."

Immediately the child ignored him, throwing open the door instead.

With an adamant, "Shut that door right now, young man!" Gibbs pointed towards the stairs. "You may stay upstairs, or you may stay down, but it is too near supper to go out of the house."

Fuming, Tony closed the door with a bang, threw himself against it, and crossed his arms defiantly. He regarded his father with a stormy expression. "What can I do, then? You just make me stay home like a baby because you want to treat me like Abby. I never get to do anything or go anywhere or have fun at all!"

Breathing in a breath steadily to calm himself, Jethro motioned Tony over to him. Determined to communicate his unhappiness the boy obeyed by shuffling as slowly as he could to his father's side, lips formed into a pout.

Gibbs leaned against the counter and tapped his son under the chin. His steely blue eyes met his child's smoldering green ones and he made no attempt to hide his impatience. "Son, I understand that you feel cheated that I will not let you stay home alone but plan to send you to day care, instead. As your father, that decision belongs to me, and believe me, Son, when I think you are mature enough to spend time by yourself I will allow it. However, that day will not exist in your immediate future."

Tony tried to pull away, but Gibbs grabbed his upper arm and reminded him sternly. "I did not dismiss you."

When his son did not respond other than to scowl, he warned quietly, "Again, I know you feel upset with me. However, if you do not get a handle on your behavior quickly, you are going to find yourself on the receiving end of a spanking. My patience has diminished with you, Young Man."

He regarded the child and watched the play of emotions cross the boy's face. It had been quite a while since he had spanked his oldest, and he knew Tony was assessing the likelihood of it happening that evening. Finally Jethro prodded, "Do you think you can take care of your attitude by yourself, or do you need me to do it for you?"

Tony regarded his shoes and kicked at the tile, still wanting to communicate his displeasure through sulking, but not willing to push his father into carrying out the corporal punishment threat.

"Son, answer me now," Gibbs warned, turning loose of the child's arm.

"Ok, ok," the eleven year old acknowledged. "I understand."

Jethro relaxed. "All right, then, come help me with supper."

Still unhappy, the child nevertheless obeyed, not willing to risk the outcome of provoking his father any further. Wordlessly he assisted, and at supper managed to improve his attitude enough to join into the conversation.

Later as Jethro tucked a sleepy Kate into bed she grabbed his shirt tail as he turned to leave. He regarded her quizzically, not sure what she needed.

"Daddy, I think that you can skip any day care for me, too. It probably is only necessary for the little kids."

"Is that so?" he responded.

"Absolutely," she beamed. "and I already told you my teacher said girls mature faster than boys."

Gibbs admired her well thought out attack. He rubbed his chin, then leaned down and kissed her again. "That may be true, Katie, but I do not consider either you or your older brother capable of staying by yourselves."

She reacted with a scowl, and turned over so that she did not face him.

His children took their communication skills seriously, even the non verbal ones!

Gibbs leaned against the door jamb almost a minute regarding the dramatic display of her obvious displeasure.

Finally he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in resignation. Parenting meant he would end up angering his children at times if he took his responsibilities seriously. Jogging back down the steps he acknowledged that tonight the issue of day care definitely had set him up for a clash with his two oldest.

Of course there was no real argument. After all, he was the dad.

Still, sometimes he felt such guilt at the amount of time he stayed away from them, on duty and on the job.

Then, when he did get physical time with them, he felt the majority of that quality time was spent saying no to one request or another.

Nevertheless, with four personalities and four little people dependent on him his duty lay in keeping them protected, loved, and supported a hundred per cent of the time.

Three weeks later he stood in the laundry room, holding out a tee shirt and shorts as an offering to his eight year old, Tim.

"We need to leave soon. Tony and the girls already have their things together."

Attired in a long sleeve shirt and jeans, the child protested, "Daddy, I said I am already dressed. I prefer what I have on now."

Staring at the child's earnest expression Gibbs tried to reason with him. "Son, look, you are scheduled to spend the day outside. The clothes you have on just will not do. It is supposed to be hot, hot, hot today."

Tim pursed his lips. "I want to stay inside and read. This will be fine."

"What do you have against a nice hike with the other kids? Think of all the interesting plants your group will find along the way," Gibbs wheedled, adding emphasis to his words to entice his son.

Stubbornly, Tim stuck to his choice. "No, Daddy, no, I want to stay inside today. These clothes will do for me."

Out of patience, finally, his father closed the discussion. "I said no. Your class plans to have the entire day in the outdoors and you will join them there. Hurry and change."

Ignoring the directive, Tim remained rooted to his spot.

Jethro counted to ten under his breath before he impatiently reached for him and skillfully unbuttoned the striped shirt. Reaching for a hanger he commanded, "Get your jeans off so I can hang them, too, and hurry."

When he turned back to find his son pouting, rather than obeying, he hurriedly grabbed the boy's waistband and unbuttoned and unzipped, using the opportunity to smack his son's bottom as the pants fell.

Tim's eyes filled with tears, but he did step out of the pants legs and stomp backwards as he watched his father grab the trousers and hang those, as well.

Eyeing Tim's lack of progress and continued defiance, Gibbs warned, "If I finish putting up this outfit and you still have not put on your tee shirt and shorts, I will blister your bottom."

Not willing to risk a spanking, Tim reluctantly did as his father bade him, then left the laundry room with a face positioned in a sulk to display his misery.

Gibbs followed on his footsteps, clapping loudly and calling for all four kids to climb in the car.

Tim bounced onto Kate as he climbed in the back, deliberately trying to provoke her.

It worked, and it took Gibbs a couple of minutes to calm everyone.

Then he saw Tim's bare feet.

Not willing to send his youngest son back into the house, he sent Tony back to grab Tim's shoes, which he had left in the laundry room.

Abby and Kate began singing in the car as Gibbs backed out of the driveway. When the younger child began singing at the top of her lungs, Tim reached over a clamped a hand over her mouth, angering her.

Gibbs called out a warning.

She bit the side of his hand, and he shoved her as far as he could get her from him.

Still mad, Tim kicked at the seat in front of him, Tony's, until the older boy reached around and popped his foot. "Quit, Tim! I told you to stop six times!" Defiantly the younger boy kicked again and Tony exploded in anger.

Gibbs reached over and grabbed Tony's hand before he punched his brother. "Ok, that did it," he announced, turning the car back towards the house.

"He started it, Dad!" Tony protested, his green eyes blazing with indignation.

Steering the car back into the driveway, Jethro did not respond. When he parked he made eye contact with the kids through the rearview mirror. "Do not move from your seats for any reason."

Nodding, Kate, Tony, and Abby settled back into the cushions. Gibbs got out and snatched open the back door, pointing towards the front door. "Inside!"

Tim attempted to change the course of events by responding hurriedly, bottom lip wobbling, "I stopped, Daddy. I finished acting bad!"

"Now!" Gibbs repeated, and the child obeyed then, sliding from his seat. Gibbs grabbed him by the arm and ushered him into the house, heading straight into the kitchen. Yanking a chair out from the table Jethro sat down and yanked the squirming boy over his lap without saying a word.

Moving his son's hands away Jethro stripped away shorts and underwear and leveled five stinging smacks to the boy's derriere, ignoring Tim's pleas and promises of immediate good conduct to deliver a painful, decisive lesson instead.

Gibbs kept him across his lap until the sobs turned to shuddery breaths a few minutes later. Finally setting Tim on the floor, he held him by his shoulders and warned, "I will tear your bottom up again this morning if you do not change your attitude and behavior immediately. Do you understand?"

Nodding miserably, Tim responded, "I understand."

Gibbs turned him loose. "You got your bottom torn up because you did not take care of your behavior yourself, and your attitude was unacceptable."

Tim reached down to pull up his clothing but Jethro stopped him. "Hold on- I am not positive that you plan to do any self correcting."

"I am, Daddy, I will," the boy nodded earnestly.

Jethro tipped up his small chin and his expression softened as Tim reached back to rub some of the sting from his bottom. "Ok, then get dressed and get back in the car immediately."

Rising from the chair he leaned down to kiss the top of the boy's head.

Hurriedly his son straightened his clothes.

Gibbs grabbed his hand and they made their way back to the car.


	2. Potential Class Acts

Potential Class Acts

None of the others commented upon Tim's transformation, absolutely certain of its cause. Instead, they cast sympathetic glances upon their brother, having all experienced corporal punishment at the hands of their dad before.

As he drove Gibbs reviewed the cause of Tim's rebellion- his day care group. The child, like his older brother and sister, had begged to stay home for the summer without supervision. Truthfully, Tim acted more maturely than his siblings most days, but at his age, home alone did not exist as an option. The child had further expressed his displeasure at the day camp his father selected, unhappy with the amount of time his group would spend outside, rather than inside. He wanted to remain within his cabin and participate in indoor activities he welcomed.

Jethro refused to approach the camp with a request that Tim sit out any event or game, privately pleased that his son would gain exposure to leisure interests out of his comfort zone.

Gibbs glanced in the mirror at Abby, who had a doll seated on her lap as she styled the doll's hair. Humming softly, she focused on her task with her usual positive approach.

Turning his attention back to his route, Gibbs still kept Abby in the forefront of his thoughts.

She had gotten into quite a bit of trouble herself a week into her enrollment at the camp. At seven, his daughter never found it difficult to communicate, and tended to attract others to her. She possessed a wealth of charm along with a firm sense of justice.

The first day he entered her group's cabin at the end of the day, he stood in the doorway observing her for a couple of minutes before she noticed him. Surrounded by a group of newly made friends, he had evidently interrupted her as she demonstrated a back handstand. He watched as she stretched her lithe body and executed a perfect display, and marveled again at her confidence.

The team's director walked over to greet him, and he asked about Abby's first day. Instead of responding immediately she hesitated, which activated Jethro's daddy antenna.

Apparently, his little girl had found it necessary to stage a coup of sorts. Not wanting to leave the fun of the pool earlier in the day, she had received three warnings from the staff before finally obeying and climbing out of the water.

Gibbs frowned, apologized to the woman and assured her that she would not encounter a repeat of that behavior, and quickly collected his little girl.

That evening after supper he called her to him, and spent some time listening to her recount the events of her day in true Abby detail. Skillfully, he moved the conversation to her swim, and to her behavior.

Leaning forward in his chair, he rested his arms on his thighs and loosely held his little girl as she grasped his knees and jumped from one foot to another.

"Abby, what did I just say to you?" he questioned.

She scowled, "I know, Daddy. You said to do what the camp leaders say."

Tightening his grip, he held her firmly so that she stood flat on the floor. Narrowing his eyes he spoke firmly, "Young lady, look at me."

She did, but not without puffing her lip in a pout.

Jethro shook his head. He held Tony responsible for teaching the others to sulk, since Tony adopted the behavior as a toddler.

The rest utilized it, at first, to emulate their older brother. Later they employed it to display their own dissatisfaction or displeasure.

Abby pinched at the fabric of his pants, searching for a physical outlet for her energy.

Gibbs regarded her with a mixture of exasperation and acceptance. She and Tony could be the poster children advertising absolutely perfect pouts.

He continued, his voice stern. "Now I have told you that you will not backtalk or disobey your teachers or ….."

She interrupted her parent in an outraged tone, "They aren't at my school! They just teach camp, Daddy!"

He responded swiftly. "Abby, if you interrupt me again you will forfeit watching television tonight. You know better." He grabbed both her hands and turned them, her palms facing upwards. "I want to always keep you safe, and I want to always take care of you, Honey."

He brushed back a tendril of her baby fine hair and then rubbed her cheek. "Let me remind you that when I tell you to obey adults, that means you will do what I say. If I receive another bad report on you from camp, you will find it painful to sit down. I promise you I will spank."

"But Daddy, I just wanted…." She protested, a tear slipping down her cheek as a token of her perceived injustice.

"No -but Daddy, anything, young lady. I have told you that I will punish you for repeating today's behavior, and I am a man of my word. You do not have a voice in this."

She regarded him several seconds before she evidently realized she needed to succumb. "Ok."

"Good," he smiled as he stood and swung her up to hug her little body against his. Kissing her on the forehead, he set her down and pointed her towards the living room where her siblings had congregated.

Abby evidently took his instructions to heart the next few days, and no one gave Gibbs a bad report. However, a week later, an irate camp counselor asked him to come inside one of the lodges for a meeting when he arrived.

Entering the building, he found Abby looking guilty, her tiny chin resting on a picnic table's scarred top. Across from her sat Tony, looking very annoyed and drumming his fingers against the chair beside him.

Gibbs paused a moment to take in the scene, a little confused as to why two of his children had demanded such an important powwow.

It soon became apparent.

According to the counselor's story, not only had Abby refused to stay with her group as they worked indoors to build birdhouses, but she had left without permission and wandered the area until she spotted Tony.

Her older brother lost no time in returning her to her proper place, nor in chastising her the entire way back to her group. He took his role in the family seriously, and promised her that if the camp did not tattle to their father, he would tell their dad himself.

Withstanding his baby sister's pleas and threats, Tony accompanied her, his hand locked around her small wrist as he made certain that she returned safely to her section.

Jethro did not hide his pride in his son's responsible thinking, and pulled him to his side as the story unfolded from the counselor. Hugging Tony against him, he rubbed him on the back and thanked him before asking him to collect Kate and Tim.

At the conclusion of the report he gave his assurance that he would handle the problem.

The camp's leaders, understandably, wanted Gibbs to find alternative care for Abby, and offered to refund her tuition. It took his best shot at diplomacy to get them to agree to one more chance, and to promise that Abby would not repeat the behavior in the future.

He motioned to his baby.

Abby crawled off the bench and went to her father, grabbing him around one leg.

Evidently, she had come to the conclusion that her actions had not been wise.

He responded by directing her to retrieve her belongings and wait for him at the door.

Tucking her in bed that night he recalled that afternoon meeting as he kissed her cheek and whispered, "Remember that you need to make good decisions."

She nodded emphatically and grabbed his hand. "I understand, Daddy."

"Good," he responded, pulling the cover over her shoulder. "Remember that I love you, always, but I will tear your bottom up again if you disobey me and do not follow instructions."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she wiped her lashes with the back of her hand.

Gazing down at his baby, Gibbs felt a sharp stab at his heart at her upset, but he quickly changed his expression.

On the ride home from camp she had done everything in her power to change his mind about punishing her, but when they got home, he had administered five painful, stinging smacks to her bare bottom instead. Her sobs had continued long after the physical punishment finished, however, partly due to her dad yanking her over his lap and partly to the fact that she would have no outdoor playtime that weekend.

He had sent her to her room until he called her for supper, with orders to rethink the day and to rethink her choices.

Sighing, Jethro leaned down and kissed Abby on the forehead. "I love you, Honey, enough to make sure you understand how important keeping you safe is to me."

The Gunny tiptoed from the room and left her.

Glancing again in the car's mirror, he watched his daughter's devotion to her doll, and it encouraged him that she seemed to learn from her mistakes. Gibbs reminded himself that since that physical deterrent, Abby had turned into a model day care camper.

Ironically enough, his two oldest- the two most vocal about their opposition to day care- had proved themselves day care divas. Tony established his popularity quickly with his athletic prowess and blatant charm, while Katie shone because of her analytical thinking and willingness to experience new adventures.

**Would wonders never cease?**

NCIS team leader Leroy Jethro Gibbs woke to a medley of voices resonating from the kitchen, and he recognized Tim and Abby's immediately.

Keeping his eyes shut, he listened to the back and forth a couple of minutes and ascertained that Tony had told them to start cooking once they got to their boss's house.

Gibbs could not stop a sigh from escaping. Though he had never encouraged his team to concern themselves with him, and in fact, had blatantly pushed them away more than once, they still worried about him and insisted upon caring for him.

The slam of his front door signaled the entrance of both Kate and Tony. Jethro felt the gust of air sweep over him as the two peeped in on him in the living room before joining Tim and Abby in the kitchen.

Cabinets opening and closing soon accompanied the slams of drawers snatched out for investigation. Apparently, grilled cheese sandwiches comprised part of the menu, and required the location of bread and spatulas.

Gibbs restrained a grin.

Disagreeing over whether they should fix chicken noodle soup or tomato soup for their boss, Kate, Tim, and Abby appealed to the senior field agent to settle the issue.

Tony reacted decisively, after first reprimanding them for the indecision. "Does Boss need a group of divas, or capable agents proving to him that we will not fall apart out of his sight? I just spent an afternoon at a day care and let me assure you that those little kiddies managed to work together better than you three. Now, to answer your question, make both and ask Boss later which he prefers to eat tonight."

Gibbs smiled.


End file.
